The Smile
by 12Redsky34
Summary: After her mother's death, her father left her to fend for herself. When he crosses the last straw, she leaves home. Then she saw the strange boy with pink hair that lit up her world with a smile. Nalu AU. Rated T for Language.


**Alright, first thing's first. This will be my first multi-chaptered Fanfic on Fanfiction~ It's gonna have some of Nalu fluff soon, don't worry.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, Nalu would definitely be canon by now. And so would a few others.**

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><p>"Princess, are you awake?" I blinked and yawned at the voice, stretching and groaning.<p>

"Hai." I called sleepily, sitting up in my bed as the door to my bedroom opened. A mop of messy pink hair appeared in the doorway.

"Punishment, Princess?" I blinked a second time at the maid's strange question. I was used to it, but I never understood why she said it.

"No, Virgo." I replied. Virgo's neutral expression remained as she walked in.

"Princess, your father requests an audience in his office." She said. I felt my heart stop and my eyes widened. Never in the seven years since my mother died did my father actually _ask_ to see me. What did this mean? Why was he asking for me now? What did he want to say? Was he going to do something to me? My thoughts were interrupted as Virgo pulled the covers off my legs.

"Time to get dressed, Princess." She said, taking my hand and pulling me out of bed. My night gown fluttered slightly as I was led to the wardrobe in the far side of my room.

"Virgo, why does father want to see me?" I asked as the pinkette pulled the wardrobe door open.

"I do not know, Princess." She replied. "Please put this on, Princess." Virgo handed me a strapless maroon dress. It was snugly fitted around my torso, then flared out at my hips with cream ruffles underneath. When I had put it on, Virgo led me through the empty halls of the mansion I lived in, towards my father's office. My mind began to wander. When was the last time I had even been near that room? At least seven years. Virgo halted, and I realized we had reached the tall double doors that led to my father's office. I gulped.

"Y-You can go now, Virgo." I said, unsuccessfully trying to keep the waver out of my voice. Virgo gave me a sympathetic look that only made my nerves worse and walked away. What did my father want? Did he want to kick me out? I was old enough to live on my own, after all... I took a deep, calming breath and pushed the doors open, walking in as they closed behind me. I took a moment to look around.

A window took up the entire wall on the opposite side of the room, letting the light from the rising sun illuminate the room. The two walls on either side of me were covered in bookshelves filled to bursting with all kinds of books, some thin, some thick, some old and dusty and some new and pristine. In front of the window was a wide desk, piled high with stacks of paper. Behind that was a high-back leather chair that cast a shadow on everything in front of it. The figure of my father stood up from the chair.

"I see you are doing well, Lucy." He said. I bit back a smart comment of _'No thanks to you'._ I gulped again and nodded.

"Yes, father." I said, somehow keeping my voice from cracking in nervousness.

"I have called you today on an important subject." He began, walking from around the desk so he was facing me. "Heartfilia Railways has managed to find another company willing to form a merger with us, and I have decided to take up their offer." I blinked. He started a business? Well, that explained all the piles of paper on his desk... But why was he talking to me about this? "To 'seal the deal', as it were, we have arranged a marriage with their heir." My heart stopped for the second time that morning. An arranged marriage? That explained a lot of things. Didn't mean I liked it.

"You will marry their heir. You will act like I expect you to, like a mature young woman who was brought up in a rich environment. You will give birth to a boy so that the business will continue." My father continued, seemingly ignoring the fact I was openly staring at him in shock. I quickly caught myself and covered my shock with a blank expression. I thought of Virgo and tried to copy her expression as father turned back to me. His voice blurred through the shot of anger that followed his statements.

As soon as he dismissed me, I left a little too quickly and rushed back to my room where I proceeded to throw pillows around to try and quell my anger at least a little. It didn't work. At that moment Virgo appeared again.

"Princess, it seems you are not in a good mood." She stated. I looked at her with an exasperated expression.

"You think?!" I snapped. I didn't really mean to, I loved Virgo like a sister, but I was _really_ mad.

"Punishment, Princess?" Virgo asked.

"No!" I exclaimed, getting frustrated. I sat down at the foot of my bed and sighed heavily, my thoughts racing. Virgo sat down beside me, wisely deciding to stay quiet.

"What are you thinking about, Princess?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

"I need to leave. I can't take this anymore, and this is the last straw." I said without hesitation.

"What is the last straw, Princess?" For the first time in longer than I could remember, Virgo showed the slightest emotion and frowned. It was just a quick, almost unnoticeable quirk of her lips, but I saw it. It made me have second thoughts about leaving. I loved all the servants, I really did. But I refused to let my father marry me off to some rich snob that was probably really unattractive and rude.

"Father told me he's marrying me off to some other rich family." I explained. "I don't want to let him do that, so the only way to go that I see is to leave and find my own place to live." Virgo was quiet for a few seconds as she gazed at me with her blue eyes. I saw her smile ever so slightly and her eyes sparked with some kind of emotion I didn't quite catch.

"Well, I wish you good luck, Princess." She said, drawing me into a tight hug. I was left speechless.

"... Um, thank you, Virgo." I said, unable to think of anything else to say. The pinkette drew away with her usual blank expression.

"Princess, you will need help packing. Allow me to assist." She said, standing up and grabbing my hand, dragging me up from the bed and tugging me towards my closet. I blinked, surprised at her quick transition of emotions. Then I smiled and shook my head as Virgo pulled out a pink suitcase and began putting neatly folded clothes inside. I looked around my room and walked over to my bedside table where a picture of my family stood. It was taken before my mother died when I was ten, and my father had been a good man then. But after the car accident that left my mother bed-ridden in hospital for about a month scared him, and his behaviour changed along with it. Then, when her heart stopped that fateful day, he changed completely to what he is now. He had never smiled since.

I sighed and picked it up, along with a silver chain necklace with a golden key attached to it. The key was intricate and made of pure gold, so it was a little bit heavier than normal necklaces, but I adored it more than any other object I possessed. My mother gave it to me, after all. Even though gifts from her brought back painful memories, I couldn't let them hold me down. I held the key in the palm of my hand for a moment, examining it's winding patterns, the metal cool against my palm. I let out another small sigh and clipped it around my neck.

"Princess, is this all you want?" Virgo asked, prompting me to turn around in curiosity. She was standing next to the suitcase that was filled neatly with clothes. She also handed me a purse. Upon closer investigation, I found it contained a wallet (With a couple thousand Jewel notes inside) and a box with a few more items of jewelry inside, including my favourite heart-shaped earrings.

"Yes, thank you Virgo." I replied, placing the picture in the purse. Virgo nodded.

"When will you be leaving, Princess?" She asked. I paused, thinking about it.

"Probably tonight." I replied. "Oh, and can you keep this a secret, Virgo? I really don't want any of the others or my father to come looking for me." I added, looking at her with my best puppy dog eyes. She smiled in amusement before returning to her blank expression.

"Of course, Princess." She replied with a bow. I smiled in gratefulness and dismissed her. She gave me one last goodbye before leaving. I sighed and looked out the window. It was already growing dark, the sun setting slowly behind the horizon. I walked over to the wide window, gazing out at the sky as stars began to become visible in the fading light. I had memorized every zodiac in the sky, including a few of the minors as well.

I turned away from the window and decided it would be a good idea to change into something more comfortable than a dress. I took a look at the remaining clothes in my wardrobe and picked out a pale pink dress, blue shorts and a pair of black high-heels.

By the time the moon had risen, Lucy was ready to leave. She quietly opened her bedroom door and peered left and right. The halls were empty and quiet. I opened the door a little further and stepped out, pulling my suitcase with me, and tiptoed in the direction of the front doors of the mansion. I soon saw the tall double doors, reaching them without any interruptions. I looked behind me before slowly pushing the doors open. I winced as they creaked in protest a little, but for the most part they were obediently quiet.

I hurried through the front garden, the full moon being the only light source I had to see with. It cast a silvery glow on everything, making the whole situation almost surreal. I didn't dare look back at the mansion I once called a home but now thought of as a prison. Despite all that I had gone through, I was scared that if I looked back then my resolve would waver and I wouldn't have the heart to leave. That was the last thing I wanted, especially after I told Virgo so confidently that I was leaving.

By the time I reached the nearest train station, I was so tired I thought I would drop and sleep where I stood. I yawned several times, trying to stay awake, as I went to the ticket booth and looked at the times for the train schedules. There was one headed to a city called Magnolia in only twenty minutes. I heard Magnolia was a good place to go for schooling and they had some nice apartments that you could rent pretty cheaply. When the ticket seller asked for my name I quickly made up a fake last name; Lucy Ashley.

While I was reluctant to wait for twenty minutes in case I was found, I didn't thing going to Clover in an earlier train was a good choice, so I decided to take the risk of being discovered and waited.

When the train finally pulled into the station, I got on and sat in an empty booth. As the train left and began to speed across the land, I gazed out the window at the scenery until I fell asleep.

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><p>I jolted awake when the train pulled to a sudden stop.<p>

"_We have now arrived at Magnolia. Thank you for taking Heartfilia Railways. We hope you enjoy your stay."_ The voice over the speakers said in a monotonous voice. I froze. Heartfilia Railways?

_Shit, I forgot that he said that he owned the railways now,_ I thought. I was so glad that I used a fake last name when buying the ticket.

With those thoughts in mind, I hurriedly grabbed my luggage and stepped out of the train. I was quite surprised at how nice Magnolia looked compared to my imagination.

I loved it.

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><p><strong>Aaand that concludes Chapter 1! I hope you enjoyed reading it, I have an idea in mind for this but it has yet to be developed properly xD Of course, suggestions are always welcome, just try not to make them too cliché. Even if you read this after it's finished (If that ever happens) then you can reviewPM me with your ideas and I'll keep them in mind~**


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